Nowness: One, Another

Max Cookward and Joaquin Ruiz move through the Greek myth of soulmates and the origins of human connection against the New York skyline

Exploring the origins of love and the search for connection, director Gregor Petrikovič delves into the ancient Greek myth of soulmates for short film One, Another – portraying humans as once-united beings, split into halves by the gods, and left longing for completeness from their missing counterparts. Divided to curb their power, this search for reunion to heal their incomplete nature is what Plato described as love’s beginnings – the eternal quest to heal our divided selves and find our matching half.

“I loved the visual analogy of these beings being split into two, forever searching for their missing halves. I loved how raw this myth was, and wanted to use it as a base for a movement-driven film with Max. As much as I wanted to create a piece about human connection, I wanted to portray this visual poem against the backdrop of the cityscape.”

Enlisting movement artists Max Cookward and Joaquin Ruiz to collaborate on a part-improvised sequence exploring closeness, serendipity, and human yearning, One, Another unfolds as a visual poem driven by movement – with original music, composed by Jacob "NTHNL" Rudin.  Shooting on 16mm film for its poetic, gritty imperfection, Petrikovič captures the dancers’ fragility and intimacy against the New York skyline, reflecting the energy of a summer that serendipitously connected him to Cookward and Ruiz, in a city where narratives of love are continuously unravelling.